Callae Snively — Joining the Global Health Movement

When I was a young girl my mother used to call me her little scientist. I was precocious, curious and never short on opinions. I asked questions of anyone and shared my discoveries with everyone. But as I walked through the 9th floor pediatric ward of Weill Bugando Medical Centre in Mwanza, Tanzania, a hospital that is the lifeline for approximately 15 million Tanzanians, I was silent. I couldn’t digest what I had seen, felt, heard and smelled nor could I adequately verbalize the inconsistent feelings of anguish and passion these sentiments aroused. For one of the first times in my life, I was speechless.

As a daughter of a surgical nurse, I have been exposed to medicine and health care all my life. As an individual fascinated by health and science, I pride myself on staying current with global health news. And as an individual passionate about connecting with different cultures and exploring our common humanity, I have continuously sought opportunities to live and work in developing nations. Walking into the Bugando Medical Centre, I mistakenly thought that my health care knowledge and previous international experiences would prepare me for what I was about to see. They did not.

Visiting the Bugando Medical Centre last October was my watershed experience, when I decided that I could not let another day pass without actuating change. This realization has prompted my decision to enroll in a master’s in public health program focusing on global health challenges and pursue a career as an epidemiologist specializing in infectious diseases.

However, one does not have a public health or medical professional to effect global health change. Furthermore, as the recent events in Haiti reiterate, now is the time for all us to become involved and support global health organizations like the Touch Foundation.

We live in a world of unprecedented scientific knowledge and economic wealth, yet preventable afflictions still plague most of the developing world. Today we are capable of utilizing these resources to mitigate global health dieases and bridge the international inequality gap in the promotion of health to a degree that was previously unimaginable. Furthermore, globalization has caused humanity to become interconnected and united like never before necessitating that we act now. It is a necessity that we all become involved in the movement to utilize the resources of today to effect global health change tomorrow.